The Popoki Peace Project is a voluntary project established in Kobe, Japan in 2006 by Ronnie Alexander and inspired by her pet cat to help promote peace.
By the way, “Popoki” is “cat” in Hawaiian. In the photo you can see Ronnie with Popoki as a kitten.
The idea behind the project is to develop a more imaginative response to peace because,
“We cannot create what we cannot imagine.”
In other words, if we are unable to imagine anything peaceful we won’t be able to create peace in our own lives or in the world.
To help participants think about peace in an imaginative way, the project uses Popoki’s Peace Books in peace workshops, seminars and camps. Events have been held all over Japan and in many other countries.
Popoki’s Peace Books to promote critical thinking, imagination, expression and action for peace through such activities as workshops, seminars, camps and other events for people of all ages.
Popoki Peace Books are bilingual books of questions about peace, using situations from the life of Ronnie’s cat, Popoki to ask some simple questions about peace. The questions are simple but there are no easy answers so the reader is encouraged to think about what “peace” could be from a variety of perspectives. The books are illustrated with cute pictures of Popoki and are designed to appeal to all ages.
Currently, two Popoki Peace Books have been published, volume 1, What Color Is Peace? and volume 2, What Color Is Friendship?
For more information about the Popoki Peace Project and the Popoki books, see Ronnie’s website at: http://popoki.cruisejapan.com
